Chapter Fourteen: Upheaval

The monster charged at Shakia without any warning, dragging her from the shallow sea toward the continental shelf. No matter how much Shakia struggled, she couldn’t break free from the creature’s tight grasp. If things got worse, she would have no choice but to launch photon torpedoes and blow the creature to pieces to escape. But if she did that, the monster would slip away once more, likely to strike again unexpectedly.

According to the director, these monsters were all drawn to the Root Cube buried beneath New Spring Autumn City. If this one managed to enter through the sewers or some other underground passage, everyone would be doomed. What could she do? She was clearly trapped with no way forward or back. If she didn’t act quickly, Shakia would be finished.

She had to unleash full firepower and blow the beast to smithereens first. But the expected explosion never came. The missile bay of Traum was tightly wrapped by the monster’s tentacles, making it impossible to open!

Panic crept into Shakia. Strictly speaking, she was still “Qin Yun”—the memories of Shakia hadn’t fully awakened, and her current combat skills were only a faint echo of her body’s muscle memory. In other words, the present Shakia could hold her own in a favorable situation, but against adversity, turning the tide was still a challenge.

“Shion!! Help me!” she shouted loudly.

Now, she could only hope for outside assistance.

“Cut the tentacles with the knife!” Shion gripped the microphone nervously.

“No! It’s too tight! My hands won’t move!”

“Shion, have the transport plane chase after it! Use the external weapons!”

The director’s voice brought a glimmer of hope to the two.

“Yes! Transport plane launching urgently! Pursuing the enemy!”

Shion quickly issued the order.

“Director, I’ve never heard of any external weapons before,” Shion asked curiously after giving the command.

The director smiled meaningfully on the communication screen.

“The Svarg tech department always likes to tinker, you know.”

The Svarg transport plane took off in an emergency. According to the director, it carried experimental cryo-bombs that hadn’t been removed after previous tests. Unexpectedly, they would come in handy today.

Fortunately, the monster’s movement in the sea was much slower than the plane.

The transport quickly flew above the monster. A small missile launcher extended from the front, releasing several ordinary-looking missiles.

Explosions immediately erupted on the shallow-water monster.

“Target hit!”

“Luckily, it didn’t drag Shakia too deep underwater, or we wouldn’t have been able to shoot.”

Shion breathed a sigh of relief for Shakia.

The monster slowed, gradually covered in thick ice.

Shakia knew the director’s new weapon had succeeded.

She forced the now-loosening tentacles apart and finally broke free.

“Whew... I thought I was done for...”

“Shakia, don’t relax yet. Drag that thing to shore quickly. The civilians have all evacuated.”

The director’s firm tone reassured Shakia. Five minutes had passed while she struggled.

“Yes! But such a huge thing... can I drag it?”

“Trust Traum’s power.”

Indeed, this creature was much lighter than the last dreaded ghoul. Possibly because it resembled a soft-bodied animal, it seemed buoyant in the water.

Trying to move it, Shakia found it was lighter than it looked—especially since it could float on the surface.

Traum fired up to full power, actually flying above the water.

Shakia carried half the monster in the air, half in the sea, flying back tens of kilometers to the coastline.

With a thunderous crash, Shakia dumped the creature near the harbor.

The area was already a ruined battlefield—turning it into a war zone was acceptable and had received military approval.

Air support summoned by the commander now hovered over the city.

The latest fighter jets swept over Traum’s head.

Sunlight glistened on the ruins, but as temperatures rose, the freezing effect began to fade.

The monster regained some mobility, struggling to reach a small hill to escape back to the sea.

“Shion! What should I do now? Should I open fire?”

Shakia looked anxiously at the trembling creature before her.

If she fired recklessly, the thing could split into countless copies and escape again.

“Go all out, Shakia! On land, that thing’s just sitting duck!” The director’s resolute voice rang in her ears. At this moment, the director had better control than Shion.

Then there was no choice but to obey.

Having been held down by this otherwise unimpressive creature for so long, Shakia was burning with frustration.

Traum’s photon missiles and tracking beams unleashed full firepower! The air force, receiving the command, fired missiles one after another!

The monster was blasted into shards of ice while writhing.

The little hill it clung to was leveled.

This time, its fragments no longer moved with any agility.

Having learned from previous mistakes, Shakia stayed alert after the barrage, carefully observing the monster’s remains.

“Look...” Under the scorching summer sun, the shards twisted, thinning and becoming brittle.

Like dried squid slices, they rapidly dehydrated and withered.

“Is it... over?” The fleet commander sighed with relief, wiping sweat from his brow.

“Looks like it...” Shion exhaled deeply. Her gaze shifted from Shakia on the monitor to the director beside her, who nodded and smiled slightly.

Shakia knelt on one knee, panting—today had been exhausting.

Through Traum’s eyes, she saw soldiers gathering, watching as the monster’s body continued to wither, becoming thinner, then turning to cracked dust that scattered on the wind.

Well, that saved them the trouble of cleaning the battlefield.

With this, the joint fleet and Svarg bureau’s mission was complete.

When parting, the fleet commander’s arrogance was diminished; he courteously hosted the Svarg agents, including Shion and Shakia, for a navy meal.

Finally, amidst military salutes from navy soldiers, Shakia and her group boarded the transport plane to return.

What happened next was left to the director to handle with the United Nations.

It seemed this battle would prompt more nations to upgrade city defenses.

Svarg bureau had made a public appearance this time, signaling that the director’s previous policy of secrecy might need revision.

A few days later, at home, Shakia unsurprisingly saw mainstream media coverage: the United Nations Joint Fleet and the Svarg Emergency Security Bureau had successfully repelled the sea-born monsters.

A wry smile touched Shakia’s lips.

From this incident onward, major countries worldwide began enacting urban security defense laws—just in case.

Back in New Spring Autumn City, Shakia’s school life continued; here, she was Qin Yun.

“Monsters strike again! What are they exactly?”

“Alien visitors or subterranean creatures? Is this humanity’s punishment for environmental destruction?”

The internet and media buzzed nonstop about the monsters, flooding every corner with hot debate.

Amid excitement mingled with panic, modern people burdened by survival pressure had every conceivable opinion.

Some groups even linked the topic to animal protection and human self-criticism.

“Qin Yun, what do you think about those monsters? I didn’t expect new species to appear,” Li Jiayi asked at school.

“I don’t know... but I don’t think they’re animals...” Qin Yun replied.

Li Jiayi saw a complex expression in Qin Yun’s eyes.

The truth was just that.

When facing those monsters, Qin Yun felt an indescribable chill—an unfathomable malice piercing her soul.

This was not a feeling one should have when confronting mere creatures.

Perhaps this sensation came from Shakia’s memories. Qin Yun’s intuition told her Shakia must know the monsters’ true nature.

“Heh, that’s a rare answer.”

“Hm?”

“It’s like you’ve faced them directly.”

“!!” Qin Yun was startled.

But Li Jiayi didn’t turn around.

“Stop joking...”

Li Jiayi sat in her wheelchair, gazing out the school corridor window.

They exchanged ordinary daily conversation.

Yet within this routine, humanity’s history had embarked on a path of confrontation against a primordial cosmic malevolence—there was no turning back.

Seeing Li Jiayi and the others gave Shakia at least a reason to keep fighting.

Shakia herself didn’t know how much longer she could maintain her campus life under the alias “Qin Yun,” protected by the Svarg bureau.